Superior Comprehensive Development Plan
Bobbi Pettit, AICP and Jordan Duffin Wong, Ph.D
January 2026
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the friendship, support, and cooperation of the residents of Superior. We would like to express special gratitude to the following:
City Council
Rick Disney, Mayor
Rodney Rogers
Sandra Foote
Trenton Morris
Craig Hale
Levi Gunn
Darrell Brandt
Planning Commission
Kim Young, Chairperson
Carl Suchsland, Vice Chairperson
Theresa Erickson
Emily Kirchhoff
Logan Christiancy
Angela Henderson
Jim Mitchell
Calvin Hayes
City Administration
Andrew Brittenham, City Administrator
John Hodge, City Attorney
Brenda Corman, City Clerk
Context
Responsibility to Plan
Per Nebraska Revised Statutes (NRS) 19-901(1), municipal governments in Nebraska are granted the authority to regulate land use within their jurisdiction:
For the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals, or the general welfare of the community, the city council of a city of the first class or city of the second class or the village board of trustees of a village may adopt zoning regulations which regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures, the percentage of lots that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces, the density of population, and the location and use of buildings, structures, and land for trade, industry, residence, or other purposes.
Building the Plan
The Superior Plan is organized into chapters based upon the guidance and requirements listed within NRS 19-903:
- A land-use element which designates the proposed general distributions, general location, and extent of the uses of land for agriculture, housing, commerce, industry, recreation, education, public buildings and lands, and other categories of public and private use of land;
- The general location, character, and extent of existing and proposed major roads, streets, and highways, and air and other transportation routes and facilities;
- The general location, type, capacity, and area served of present and projected or needed community facilities including recreation facilities, schools, libraries, other public buildings, and public utilities and services;
- When a new comprehensive plan or a full update to an existing comprehensive plan is developed, an energy element which: Assesses energy infrastructure and energy use by sector, including residential, commercial, and industrial sectors; evaluates utilization of renewable energy sources; and promotes energy conservation measures that benefit the community. This subdivision shall not apply to villages; and
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- When next amended after January 1, 1995, an identification of sanitary and improvement districts, subdivisions, industrial tracts, commercial tracts, and other discrete developed areas which are or in the future may be appropriate subjects for annexation and (b) a general review of the standards and qualifications that should be met to enable the municipality to undertake annexation of such areas. Failure of the plan to identify subjects for annexation or to set out standards or qualifications for annexation shall not serve as the basis for any challenge to the validity of an annexation ordinance.
Jurisdiction of the Plan
Per NRS 17-1001 (1), the geographical area covered by the City of Superior Comprehensive Plan includes all land within a one-mile area encompassing the city, “the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of a city shall consist of the unincorporated area one mile beyond and adjacent to its corporate boundaries.”
Map 1.1: Superior Municipal Boundary and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction displays Superior’s corporate boundary and zoning jurisdiction, which includes all lands within the City of Superior and its One-Mile Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). Superior’s land use policies govern all lands within the city as well as the ETJ.1
Existing Land Use
The existing land use (ELU) map provides a visual representation of how land in Superior is being used. It is a snapshot of the current state of the city’s existing land use patterns and helps with the decision-making processes related to land development, zoning regulation, and infrastructure funding.
Map 2.2: Superior Existing Land Use categorizes different areas – typically parcels of land – based on their primary uses today. This map serves as a baseline for inventorying characteristics of Superior that the community hopes to maintain, as well as what the community hopes to change in the next decade. It assists with identifying areas of change or potential growth, as well as with making informed decisions about future development and zoning regulations.2
